Dread Talk: The Language of Rastafari

Rating:
Summary: Overstanding the Language of I-man
Review: With Dread Talk, Velma Pollard has done a remarkable job of both describing the language of Rastafarians, highlighting its growth from and influence upon Standard Jamaican English and Jamaican Patois, and explaining the cultural and philosophical rationale behind the language. She also tracks its influence, growth and spread across the Caribbean and around the world. Linguists and others interested in the growth of language (especially when the growth is partially shaped by a sociocultural agenda) should find Dread Talk an interesting read. Especially illuminating are the discussions of the ways new words are formed and the illustrations of these processes from Rasta poetry and reggae music.